Meanie cats and chipmunks don't mix!

We had a great tragedy at our house today. For those of you who don't know, Matt's dad, Vern, provided the kids with a 50 lb bag of corn to feed the wildlife in our backyard. Alex is usually the most faithful "feeder" of the animals, and he takes a large cup of corn in the backyard and spreads it around the yard and patio for the squirrels, chimpmunks, bunnies and other animals. The animals have figured out that Alex will feed them so we have quite the collection on most days. Our record for a single sighting is 8 squirrels, 2 chipmunks, 3 bunnies and a large black crow. The animals will come almost up to the sliding glass door to get the corn so the girls love to look for them when they get up or get up from a nap. They get very excited and point and then pound on the door and scare them away:)

Now that you have the background, here is the tragedy. We were all sitting at the table watching the squirrels (3 or so) and two tiny chipmunks eat the corn about 10 am this morning. Alex had fed them and a group was just starting to converge for a mid-morning snack. The boys love the chipmunks because they watch them load up their cheeks and carry the corn back to their holes. Kirill was playing on the computer and my mom, Alex and I were watching the chipmunks eat. My mom said, "Look, there's a cat!" and before we could even re-act, the cat pounced on one of the chipmunks, killed it, and was carrying it off in its mouth. We sat in horror as Alex watched his favorite little friend be attacked and eaten. We were horrified. For the rest of the morning, none of the little friends would come back, only the "meanie cat that I hate" according to Alex.

Alex called to report the atrocity to his dad. "Dad, that mean cat's owner should take care of it so it doesn't kill the chipmunks. They are my friends." He reported the tragedy to Matt's mom. "Grammy, do you hate that meanie cat that ate my chipmunk? Do you not like him? I hate him and don't even like him."

"Oh yuck! That was a vicious cat" Grandma reports.

I'm still traumatized. Well, I'm still traumatized by an event almost 9 years ago when Matt's parents dogs attacked and ate a beautiful white bird (heron or egret or something like that) that had just landed on their pond. They jumped on it and pulled it apart...

So for those of you who don't know it, cats attack and eat chipmunks and squirrels and even bunnies, so don't let your kids feed these animals if cats are around. Watch out for birds if dogs are around! And as my loving husband says, "It's nature, what do you expect the animals to do in these situations:)" I just don't want to be there to witness nature like this.

Watch for updates to see if the other animals return...